SkipmainnavigationAllnewsFutureLearnLocalPressInsightsHowToHome/Psychology&MentalHealth/DefiningMentalHealth:AShortIntroduction/NeuroticandpsychoticsymptomsLearnmoreaboutthiscourse.NeuroticandpsychoticsymptomsArticleoutliningthedifferencebetweenneuroticandpsychoticsymptoms©CoventryUniversity.CCBY-NC4.0Onereasonwhymentalhealthissuesaresodifficulttodefineisthatapersonlivingwiththemmaydisplaymanydifferentsymptoms.Aconsequenceofthisisthatsymptomshavetraditionallybeendividedintogroupscalledeither‘neurotic’or‘psychotic’symptoms(Gofal2018).NeuroticsymptomsPsychoticsymptomsThesearesymptomsthatcanbeconsideredasextremeformsof‘normal’emotionalexperiencessuchasdepression,anxietyorpanic.Conditionspreviouslyclassifiedas‘neuroses’arenowmoreoftencalled‘commonmentalhealthproblems’.However,thisdoesnotalwaysdenotethattheyareanylessseverethanconditionswithpsychoticsymptoms.Thesesymptomsinterferewithaperson’sperceptionofrealityandmayincludehallucinations,delusionsorparanoia,withthepersonseeing,hearing,smelling,feelingorbelievingthingsthatnooneelsedoes.Psychoticsymptomsor‘psychoses’areoftenassociatedwith‘severementalhealthproblems’(Gofal2018).Itisimportanttorememberthatsomeillnessesfeaturebothneuroticandpsychoticsymptoms.Thefactthereisnocleardissimilaritybetweenthesymptomsofcommonandmoreseverementalhealthproblemscancreatesignificantcomplexitieswhendefiningmentalhealthissues,asthiscandifferwildlydependingontheindividualandtheseverityoftheirillness.Therearealsowiderimplicationstoconsiderthatcanalterhowapersoncanbediagnosedsuchasculturalinfluencesandtheviewofsociety.ReferencesGofal(2018)‘WhatisMentalHealth?’[Online]availablefromhttp://www.gofal.org.uk/what-is-mental-health/[12thNovember2018]©CoventryUniversity.CCBY-NC4.0Wanttokeeplearning?ThiscontentistakenfromCoventryUniversityonlinecourseDefiningMentalHealth:AShortIntroductionViewCourseSharethispostSeeotherarticlesfromthiscourseThisarticleisfromtheonlinecourse:DefiningMentalHealth:AShortIntroductionCreatedbyJoinForFreeNewscategoriesGenera